emarginata – from Latin emarginatus (to deprive of its edge), referring to the shallow notch at the end of petals

Native range: Western North America

Leaves:

• alternate
• oblong to oval
• 3–8 cm long
• finely toothed, rounded at tip
• stalked
• 1 or 2 small glands at the base of the leaf blade

Flowers:

• white or pinkish
• 10–15 cm across
• 5–10 in flat-topped cluster

Fruit:

• bright red cherries to 1 cm diameter
• bitter, inedible to humans

Other characteristics:

• shrubs or small trees, 2–15 m. tall
• deciduous
• bark reddish-brown or grey, with horizontal rows of raised pores

Relevant info:

• tough stringy bark of bitter cherry was peeled off in horizontal or spiral strips or sheets and used for decorative overlay of coiled cedar-root baskets
• presence is often evidence of past disturbance (e.g., fire, logging)
• tree form is used in cultivation
• two varieties are sometimes recognized:
  1. var. emarginata, shrub-like and more widespread form in the arid west
  2. var. mollis, small tree form found west of the Cascades

Ecology & Adaptations:

• native from British Columbia and Vancouver Island south to southern California and east to Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico
• found in moist forest and in gravelly or sandy soil along streams, and as a pioneer on logged and burned areas
• rocky mountain slopes, subalpine, thickets on exposed sites, understory of conifer and oak forests
• at low to middle elevations (0–3000 m.)
• pollinated by insects
• seed dispersed by birds eat fruit
• vegetative regeneration – resprouts from root crown and roots
• fire adapted:
  • re-sprouting
  • germination of seeds in soils
  • dispersal of seeds from off site by birds
• herbivore/microbial defense – bark contains cyanide-producing compounds, which impart a bitter taste to the tissue and interfere with microbial and animal respiration if ingested
• wildlife:
  • browsed by mule deer, elk, and black bear
  • preferred by Columbian black-tailed deer
  • fruits are eaten by birds, rodents, and small mammals and, in Washington, by slugs
  • in the Sierra Nevada, bitter cherry is utilized by mountain beaver
  • provides cover for Columbian sharp-tailed grouse